S1: Today on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe will be stepping
S1: up to a higher altitude.
S2: Temptation always tells you that if you buy into this,
S2: it'll satisfy you even though it's not God's way. And
S2: so we're lured into it. We're deceived into thinking that
S2: there's a way that's better than God's way. And it
S2: always ends up failing.
S1: Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, senior pastor of
S1: New Life Community Church and president of Moody Bible Institute
S1: in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. We've all heard the phrase
S1: God is a jealous God. But what does that mean? Well,
S1: that's the topic we're going to explore today in our
S1: message called Stepping Up to a Higher Attitude. It's part
S1: of our study from the Book of James. And we'll
S1: be diving into chapter four. First, let me remind you
S1: that if you haven't signed up for Marc's email devotional,
S1: be sure to do that soon. It's the bold Step,
S1: or weekly automatically delivered to your inbox each Monday morning, free.
S1: To learn more or to sign up, visit Bold Steps. Org.
S1: Right now, let's get into today's message. Here's Marc job
S1: with bold steps.
S2: Why is your heart more into your sport than it
S2: is into your God? Oh, I talk to men sometimes.
S2: I'll have a conversation with men. Sometimes I'll say, you know,
S2: I like church, I just don't I don't like that
S2: worship part. How about screaming and shouting when someone gets
S2: baptized and gives their life to Jesus Christ? How about
S2: getting a little excited about the things of the Kingdom
S2: of God that matter for eternity? How about letting your
S2: emotions go a little bit when you see because it's
S2: what you're into that you're excited about? Wherever your heart is,
S2: your emotions going to be your heart is going to
S2: be man. I know that people, when they're into God,
S2: they are into God. And when they're into something else,
S2: they're into something else. So the question is, what are
S2: you into? Seriously, what are you into? Are you seriously
S2: into God? The one who saved you, washed you, cleansed you,
S2: bled for you, filled you, gave you life, gave you breath,
S2: gave you a second chance. Man, if he deserves our
S2: full emotion and devotion, it's God of the universe. The
S2: Bible says that the Spirit of God envies intensely. So
S2: friendship with the world means that we embrace the values
S2: and the pursuits of the world around us. The Holy
S2: Spirit that God has placed inside of us longs jealousy
S2: for our Full devotion. So how do we step up
S2: to a different attitude? You find yourself that your attitude
S2: is not where it needs to be. Because let me
S2: tell you something. The world is always going to disappoint you.
S2: I want you to hear me well. The world is
S2: always going to disappoint. There's nothing in this world that
S2: will fill you forever. It will fill you temporarily. But
S2: there will come a day that you will look at
S2: what the world has to offer. And you will say,
S2: is this it? God, his love, his mercy, his forgiveness,
S2: his power is the only thing that can ever satisfy
S2: and fill the longing of your spirit. You are created
S2: to drink deeply of the fountain of God. Oh, you're
S2: climbing the success ladder and paying the bills. Oh, it
S2: may give you a thrill for a while. It may
S2: fill you for a while, but it won't be. It
S2: won't last long. The love of a woman and her commitment.
S2: It may fill you for a while, but there will
S2: come a day will that will ring empty in your life.
S2: These are not bad things, even good things in life.
S2: Sometimes we can try to cause them to take the
S2: place of God, cause them to try to fill us,
S2: but ultimately they end up empty. And then we find
S2: when we find ourselves empty, the attitude in our life
S2: begins to change. And so James talks to the people.
S2: And he says to them how to change their attitude.
S2: And he says, listen, verse six, But God, but he,
S2: God gives more grace. Say more with me. More. I
S2: don't know what you want in life, but you cannot
S2: live without Grace. You say what? What is grace? Grace
S2: is the unmerited, undeserved favor of God. Grace is God's favor.
S2: When you have God's favor, you have the most powerful
S2: force in the universe on your side. When you have
S2: God's favor, you have God's goodness pouring into your life.
S2: When you have God's favor, doors open up. When you
S2: have God's favor, there's a sense of his blessing, his goodness,
S2: his joy that's flowing on your life. When you have
S2: God's favor, you have momentum in your direction when you
S2: have God's favor. And here's what here's what James tells us.
S2: But he gives more grace. Oh, grace is given to everybody.
S2: But some people have more grace than other people. You say, well,
S2: why does that person have so much favor? I wish
S2: I had their favor. They have more favor, more grace.
S2: And let me tell you, you want to attract the
S2: favor of God. You know, there are certain things that repel,
S2: and there's other things that attract. Some people go and
S2: spend a lot of money on perfumes. They think this
S2: is this. They see the commercial where a guy sprays
S2: a little Cologne on them, and he's got a bunch
S2: of beautiful women around. They're like, where's that? Spray? A
S2: little bit you go like this, and no one but
S2: your dog comes and you're like, oh, well, what's going
S2: on here? I have a tendency, you know, some people
S2: attract mosquitoes and some people can just go out and
S2: never be bitten. I'm like a magnet. They like me.
S2: I tell my wife my blood sweet, and they like it.
S2: And so, you know, in Spain, they have no screens
S2: on the houses. They just, you know, leave the doors open,
S2: the windows open. And so always there's some bugs that
S2: get in there. Some mosquitoes. So a couple of weeks
S2: ago it happened a bunch of nights. Go to bed.
S2: Turn the light off at two in the morning. Three
S2: in the morning. There's nothing worse than hearing. How many
S2: of you know that terrible feeling? There's a mosquito in
S2: the room. And if I don't get him, I'm going
S2: to be dinner for them. I'll wake up with a
S2: bunch of little bites because they're going to suck the
S2: blood out of me. I'd flip on the light. My
S2: wife would say, what's going on? Don't. Don't worry, hon.
S2: I'm getting them. But they say that there's certain mosquito
S2: repellents as DTS in it, and you put it on
S2: you and it it repels the mosquito comes close to you.
S2: And whatever you have on you that that that DTS,
S2: It repels the mosquitoes. So the mosquitoes are like, no,
S2: I don't like that. There is a repellent to the
S2: grace of God. There is something that when God gets
S2: around you, he withdraws his favor from you because he says, no, no, no,
S2: I don't even want to be around that. You know
S2: what repels the grace of God? You know what causes
S2: the grace of God to pull away from you more
S2: than anything else? What causes the grace of God to
S2: just get away from you? The grace of God doesn't
S2: want to land on it. Be near it. Come close
S2: to you. He smells it on you and he backtracks
S2: from you. The Bible is very clear about this. Listen,
S2: it says God opposes the proud. Come on. God opposes
S2: the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. Humility
S2: attracts the favor of God. Pride repels the favor of God. Now,
S2: some people have a wrong idea of what pride and
S2: humility look like. Some people think that if you're humble,
S2: you walk around with your head low all the time.
S2: When someone says, hi, how are you doing? You can
S2: barely look up and say, hi. I'm, you know, staring
S2: down at your shoes. No, no, that's insecurity, not humbleness.
S2: There's a difference between being humble and being insecure. Jesus
S2: was humble, but he was. He was bold. He looked
S2: people in the eye. He spoke directly. He loved Moses.
S2: It says he was the most humble man of his day.
S2: Yet Moses led a couple million people into liberty. He
S2: stood up to the powerful forces of a nation in
S2: the name of God. Yet he was not a proud man.
S2: He was a humble man. Humility is the right assessment
S2: of who you are before God. Humility is recognizing reality
S2: that you are small and God is great and that
S2: you deeply, deeply need God. That's humility. Humility causes you
S2: not to judge someone else because, you know, if it
S2: were not for the grace of God, I would be
S2: in your same situation. Humility causes you to pray because
S2: you know how much you need the wisdom of God.
S2: Humility causes you not to brag about yourself, because you
S2: know that everything that you have has been given to
S2: you from on high. Humility causes you not to not
S2: to judge others quickly, because you know that you have
S2: been forgiven for so much and you need to forgive
S2: others for a lot as well. Humility causes you not
S2: to be intimidated by other people because you know they're
S2: mere human beings. The only one that you fear is
S2: God himself. Humility causes you to bow your knee before
S2: God and say, God, there's nothing or no one in
S2: this world that can fill me but you. And I
S2: need all that you have. God, I am dependent on you.
S2: That's what humility does.
S1: You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe and a
S1: message he's titled Stepping Up to a Higher Attitude. Stepping
S1: into a higher attitude takes humility and patience, as Mark explained.
S1: And if you'd like to partner with us to help
S1: others around the country, we'd love to partner with you.
S1: Here's a listener. Holly took the time to send us
S1: this quick note via Facebook. She says my everyday noon
S1: hour is spent listening right here. Thank you for the broadcast. Well,
S1: your partnership allows us to keep reaching out and connecting
S1: with listeners like Holly. Sign up to become a Bold
S1: Partner online at Bold Steps. Org or call us at
S1: 800 3566639. Right now, let's discover more about what humility
S1: really means with our Bible teacher, Mark Jobe.
S2: And Scripture says God opposes the proud. When God gets
S2: around proud people, people that brag, people that think that
S2: they have it all together, people that think they're wise,
S2: people that don't think they need God. People that pursue
S2: their own. People that look down on others. People that
S2: that are confident in themselves but not confident in God.
S2: It repels the grace of God. God says, if you're
S2: all that you are that you think you are, then
S2: do it on your own. Because I don't even want
S2: to be around you. My favor is not going to
S2: be around you. And so God withdraws his favor from
S2: the proud, but he gives more grace to the humble. Amen.
S2: And so it says, submit yourselves, then, to God. come
S2: under the authority of God. Humility says not my way,
S2: but yours. God. Not my desires, but yours. God. Not
S2: my life, but yours. God. It's not about me, Lord.
S2: It's about you. It's not about what I want. It's
S2: about what you want. It's not about my will. It's
S2: about your will. It's not about my dreams. It's about
S2: your dreams. It's not about my values. It's about your values.
S2: I submit myself to you, God, because you are greater
S2: than me. Submit yourself into God. And then he gives
S2: us three things to do to recapture. Regain that attitude
S2: that he's called us to. You see, it's humility does
S2: not earn the grace or favor of God. It merely
S2: puts us in a position to receive the gift of grace.
S2: Once in a while I'll go out with my young son.
S2: He likes to throw the football around and I'm throwing
S2: a nice spiral football at him. If I've told him
S2: to go left and he goes right, not. I want
S2: him to receive the football, but he'll miss it because
S2: he's not in the right position to receive it. God's
S2: favor is that way. He wants to give us his favor.
S2: He throws his favor at us. But if we're in
S2: a position of pride, we cannot receive his grace or
S2: his favor. We miss it. So submitting to God means
S2: to align ourselves under his authority. And there's three things
S2: that need to happen three practical steps to regain a
S2: new attitude. They're very simple. Let me give them to
S2: you very quickly. Number one he says, resist the devil
S2: and he will flee from you. Resist the temptation to
S2: fill your life outside of God. You see, the big
S2: lie of the devil is that there's a better way
S2: outside of God's way. That's the lie of temptation. Temptation
S2: always tells you there's a better way that's going to
S2: fill you outside of God's way. You don't have to
S2: get married. Just live with her. It's easier. There's a
S2: better way outside of God's way. You don't have to
S2: tell the truth. Just lie. You can get away with it.
S2: There's a better way outside of God's way. You don't
S2: have to be generous. Just hold it all to yourself.
S2: You know, there. You know there's always going to be
S2: needs out there. There's a better way outside of God's way.
S2: Temptation always tells you that if you buy into this,
S2: it'll satisfy you even though it's not God's way. And
S2: so we're lured into it. And we were deceived into
S2: thinking that there's a way that's better than God's way,
S2: and it always ends up failing. So the Bible says,
S2: resist the temptation and resist the devil. How many of
S2: you know? Sometimes you just have to resist. Temptation is
S2: always going to be there, always going to be there.
S2: There's not a person in this auditorium that this week
S2: was not tempted. We're not all tempted with the same things.
S2: Your temptation may do nothing to me, but your. But
S2: my temptation may do nothing to you. Someone may be
S2: out there and say, man, I'm really fighting. I've been
S2: sober for six months and alcohol's a real temptation. I'm
S2: fighting it every day. I'm fighting it. I was never
S2: an alcoholic. Never, never struggled with alcoholism. So it's not
S2: a temptation for me. Doesn't draw me. Doesn't pull me.
S2: but for the person that's struggling with it, it's a major,
S2: major battle. There's someone else that may be out there
S2: that's struggling with their their thoughts of anxiety, and it's
S2: a real battle to to not fall into depression or anxiety.
S2: And someone else may be out there. They've always had
S2: a real positive mentality. They've never struggled with depression, so
S2: their temptation doesn't affect the other person. But we all
S2: have our temptations, every single one of us. And the
S2: root of every temptation is the same. The enemy is
S2: going to lie to you and try to get you
S2: to fall into the trap. That is not God's way.
S2: And so we resist it. We fight it. We say no.
S2: So first of all, you resist. You resist the temptation
S2: to fill your life outside of God. Secondly, oh, I
S2: love this verse. If you haven't heard anything today and
S2: you hear this, come near to God and he will
S2: come near to you. Oh, let me say that again.
S2: Come near to God, and he will come near to you.
S2: You know what God is saying? God is saying if
S2: you take a step, he's going to take a step.
S2: God is saying, hey, take a step and he'll take
S2: a step. All God wants to know is that you're
S2: willing to take a step. You're willing to come close,
S2: and then God comes close. Some of us sit back
S2: and we just want God to come, but we're not
S2: willing to take the first step. God is just waiting.
S2: Just just saying. Come on. Take a step. If you
S2: take a step, I'll know. I know you really want me.
S2: You take a step, I'm going to take a step.
S2: Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.
S2: And what happens when you draw near to God and
S2: when God is close to you? You're going to start
S2: to feel the fullness of God, the grace of God.
S2: When you draw close, when you're far from God, you're
S2: going to feel the emptiness of being far from God.
S2: But when you and you want to fill your life
S2: with other things, but when you draw near to God,
S2: you're going to start feeling the fullness of God upon
S2: your life. And then he ends with this listen. Come
S2: near to God and he will come near to you.
S2: Wash your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double minded. Grieve,
S2: mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your
S2: joy to gloom. When you come near to God, you're
S2: going to realize that you have been chasing after a
S2: lot of things that that that grieve the heart of God.
S2: You're going to say, oh wow, God, I was chasing
S2: this and trying to fill myself with that. Things are nothing.
S2: Forgive me God, that I was trying to fill my
S2: life outside of you. I want you to fill me, Lord.
S2: And then he ends with this. With this promise. Humble
S2: yourself before the Lord and he will lift you up.
S2: You see, the more you humble yourself, the more you
S2: attract the grace of God, the more you attract the
S2: grace of God. The higher the higher, the higher, the
S2: higher you go, the lower you humble yourself and say, God,
S2: I need you. Then the more the favor of God
S2: comes upon you and lifts you up, the more you
S2: acknowledge your brokenness before God and say, God, I can't
S2: do anything without you. Then the more God can fill
S2: you and when God fills you, he starts lifting you
S2: up and your attitude starts going higher and your faith
S2: starts going higher, and your your impact starts going higher,
S2: and your, your, your life starts living at a different level. Why?
S2: Because you've humbled yourself before God, and you've attracted the
S2: favor of God upon your life so he can start
S2: lifting you up. You're not lifting yourself up. It's God
S2: that's lifting you up because you've humbled yourself before God Almighty.
S1: Learning about the grace of God. You're listening to the
S1: Bible teaching of Mark Jobe, and this is Bold Steps.
S1: And Mark, I'm sure there's some people out there that
S1: thought this was a really tough message today because the
S1: spirit is working and they're wrestling with their attitude about things.
S1: Maybe they need a new perspective.
S3: You know, so many of us get into seasons where
S3: we struggle with our attitude. I know I have.
S1: Yeah, we all do. Yes.
S3: You know, gotten into those seasons where you just can't
S3: seem to shake negative thinking, a bad attitude, and that
S3: affects your relationships around you. It affects the people that
S3: are closest to you and it affects your relationship with God.
S3: And so I think I'd like to pause right now, Wayne,
S3: and ask our listeners if you have been struggling with
S3: a bad attitude and the Lord has convicted you while
S3: you've been listening to this message, I would like to
S3: pray with you and pray over you that this would
S3: be the end of the bad attitude that has plagued
S3: your heart. Would you pause with me? Father, I pray
S3: for that person right now. People around them have noticed
S3: the attitude that they've carried that critical, negative attitude. And
S3: I pray in Jesus name that wherever has been the
S3: wellspring of the thoughts that have led to that negative
S3: attitude towards others and towards you and towards life, I
S3: pray in Jesus name that you would give them the
S3: power to release it. Right now. We lay it at
S3: your feet. God, we say, this is not the attitude
S3: that you have called us as believers to have. And
S3: so we repent of it. We renounce it. And we pray,
S3: even now, God, that you would begin to put on
S3: a new attitude in our hearts. I pray that after
S3: this message for the remainder of this day and going
S3: into the next week, that the attitude will be significantly
S3: different because of your Holy Spirit. I ask this in
S3: Jesus name. Amen.
S1: Thank you Mark. Well, if you'd like to share this
S1: message with a friend who might need to hear it,
S1: just head over to our website. Bold steps. Org. Today's
S1: message is called stepping up to a New Attitude. It's
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S1: That's all the time we have. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Join
S1: us again tomorrow when Mark explains why we need to
S1: check our hearts. It's a message called stepping up to
S1: a Clean Heart. And you can hear Thursday on Bold
S1: Steps with Mark Jones. Bold steps is a production of
S1: Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.